Pneumatic upholstery



N ov. 3, 1931.

W. H. SMITH ET AL PNEUMATIC UPHOLSTERY Filed Aug. 18. 195o 2Sheets-Sheet. 1

Nov. 3, 1931. w. H. SMITH ET AL PNEUMATIG UPHOLSTERY Filed Aug. 18, 19502 Sheets-Sheer, 2

\Patented'Nov." 3,1931 'i I 'UNITED sTArEsrAreNr otr-ICE VWILLLeuarHENRY SMITH, or WITHINGTON, AND HENRY coN'N'AH' sTANLEY, or

' ERDINeToN, ENGLAND 1 f lPNEUMATIG lUnonsrzimr pantano-n mea August 1s,19ao,serfia1 No. 476,088, anain Great Britain :september` 9, 1929'.

This invention refersto pneumatic upholstery, and in particular topneumatic seats and seat backs requiring normally to maintain theirshape and to 'resist lateral displacement- .or rolling when sat orleanedupon. The main object of this invention is to provide means whereby theresistance to lateral displacement or rolling is more effectivelycontrolled,or determined. A further.4 object is. to provide a combinedseat and seat back, havingv the aforesaid improvements and adapted tobe'handled and4 used as a single unit and to be used as a double or twinsea (or double back) when so desired.

' According to the invention, the improved` .pneumatic upholsterycomprisesin one form a rubber bag, and tubular'tie-pieces or eyeletsmade .of rubber, connecting the upper and lower-.walls of the bagtogether. Further, the tubular tiepieces are of fiat or elongated .shape'in transverse cross section, that is to s ay, the tie-pieces .arecomparatively narrow vin one direction and comparatively'long ina'direction at right angles to 'the narrower dimension. By thus formingthe tie-pieces, 'they-are practically inextensiblein one direction, i.e., in the direction of their major axes, and serve to give greatlyincreased resistance to rolling of thel rubber bag in the direction ofthe said maj or axes. The said tie'- pieces, off-flat or elongated crosssection, are

arranged in the rubber bag in positions where f their longer ormajoraxes will afford resistance to rolling inthe desired directions. In

most cases, certain of the tie-pieces will be' arranged with theirmajoraxes atright angles tothe major axes ofi-the other tiepieces.

. The tie-pieces win preferably be *of short axial length, so that theywill not bedistorted (bent or defiected) when .the fbag is'sat or leanedupon. l Two'rubber bags, each constructed as be- -fore described, may becombined toform a single upholstery unit, and serveasa seat. and backrest, or as a double seat, thebags being connected by a rubber jointingpiece,

-and beingsupplied vwith afsingle infiating valve and air inlet'conduitbetween the bags,

'seat and back cushion for a motor car made In Fig. 1,

tie-pieces'. As shown more clearlyv in- Fig. 70

ler a separate valve being provided for each l ag. j

Sponge rubber may be employed for. filling the openings in thetie-pieces.

The rubberd bag or' bags may be covered 55 with a leather or othercovering, .or may be L moulded in shape and surface in imitationofleather or other ordinary upholstery. Upon the accompanying drawingsFig. l'is a plan,and Fig. 2 is a cross 4section of a single rubbercushion with the invention applied thereto. l.

Fig. 3 isa perspective view ofa combined in accordance with theinvention.

Fig. 4 is a geometric side view of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 isan'enlargedcrosssection of partsv Of 4:. I l

@is the rubber bag, and b, b, the

2,' each tie-piececom ru'jses an eyelet or tube of' rubber, securedvulcanized) to the top 'f and bottom parts'of the bag', the tube beingcomparativelyv short.

In transverse cross section, each eyelet or 75 rest. Centrally of theseat c are three tiepieces'e each with an elongated opening and theopenings arranged witldi their major axes .'90 parallel-to ene anotheran to the-frontand 'rear edges of the seat. -The centre and for- Wardtie-piecesare progressively longer than `the back .tie-piece. At eachside are two further: tie-pieces f, each withan A elongated o5 opening,andthewopening lying parallel with the -side edges of the seat, the rearends of the back tiepiecesI being in line with the back transversetie-piece and the ffor'ward tieypieces extending-in: vfront'of theforward 'W0 .l

rolling, than a round circular 35 transverse tie-pieces. The back restportion d of the cushion, is a separate bag, but ositively connectedtothe seat portion c y a hinge piece of rubber The top edge of 5 theback rest is curve to conform to the usual type of bucket seat for a carand has four transverse tie-pieces h with elongated openings ofprogressively increasing size the largest opening being at the top,andthree tie-piecesat each side. Se arate valves, not shown, may beprovided or` the seat and back, or a single valve common to both may beprovided, an air conduit j Fig.' 5) being axanged between the seat anback rest. v he back rest may be folded down on to. the seat, and act asa double seat, or the seat and back rest may be arranged side by. side,and serve as two seats. The rubberbag or bags ma b e ornamented ortreated to resemble leat er, or the bag p il'; bags may be covered withleather or the By filling the e elets with sponge rubber, they arerendere still further non-distortable, when the bag is subject to load.R

The relative ositions 'of the eyelets and their spacings a ow of the baghaving the ap arance of `the ordinary buttoning.

at we claim vis l `1. In neumatic upholstery,`rubber ba having t epieces connecting they upper an lower walls of the bag and of a sect1onro# vidin elongated apertures in the faces o the y bag,t e tie piecesbeing arranged withvthe major axis of their apertunes in more than onedirection so that lndividually they each .permit freer movement acrosstheir said major axis, but collectivelythey resist relative movementbetween the upper4 and lower. f. 40 walls of the bag in all directionsin the plane of the bag.

2. In'pneumatic upholstery, a rubber bag, according to claim 1,characterized by an arrangement of the tie pieces with the aperture ofeach tie piece-with its major axis parallelv to that of `some and atright angles to thatA of other adjacent tie pieces so that the up r andlower walls of the bag are tied toget er essentially againstrelativemovement in two li0 directions at right an les to each other.

3. In pneumatic up olstery, a rubber bag,- according to claim l,characterized by the arrangement of those tie pies immediately adjacentto the` sides of the bag with their 5i ma'or. axis parallel therewith. A

A n testimony whereof they have signed their names to this s ecication.j WILLIAM IIENRY SMITH., HENRYICON-NAH STANLEY.

